In a bold move to address Nigeria’s rising maternal mortality rates, a maternal healthtech company, Birthsafe, is set to host a groundbreaking emergency obstetric training for nurses and midwives on July 2nd and 3rd, 2025. The training, targeted at Nurses and Midwives, will be held at NECA Hall, Ikeja, Lagos, and is part of Birthsafe’s larger corporate social responsibility campaign, Train One to Reach Many.
In a press briefing held a few days at Shoregate Hotel, Lagos, the founder of Birthsafe Nigeria, Dr. Idara Umoette, explained the motivation behind the initiative, “The most pressing gaps in emergency obstetrics care that this training hopes to address would be the efficiency of the first response. In many instances, first responders whom women run to first are nurses and midwives. So it makes perfect sense that as first responders, they should be equipped, empowered and have their skills further sharpened to ensure that they can deliver efficient interventions to keep women and baby alive.”
According to Umoette, the TORM initiative was conceived to bridge the dangerous gap between antenatal care and emergency response at delivery points, “Women and their babies are dying and we have had conversations on a way forward—on how we can beat this. Birthsafe, as a foremost digital antenatal service provider, has directly rendered services to pregnant women. And we sat and thought, in addition to being proactive, is there something that can be done to strengthen the reactive care that pregnant women receive. It is one thing to receive antenatal care, but what happens when they come to the facilities in the event of an emergency? That’s what formed the idea behind TORM.”
She emphasised the importance of starting the training in Lagos, noting that the state had the highest number of responses when the call for registration went out. The two-day training will feature expert-led sessions and practical demonstrations, with facilitators selected for their extensive experience and ability to deliver content that is applicable across various healthcare settings.
“The facilitators were selected based on their years of experience, expertise and work they have done in the health space. They were selected based on their ability to deliver training that is practical and can be applicable in any sort of setting to be sure that women can be kept alive as soon as possible,” Umoette stated.
Also present at the pre-briefing were notable healthcare professionals and advocates including the Executive Director of Accentcare Home Health Services, Dr. Ifeoma Orifa, who praised the initiative stating, “The need for this cannot be overemphasised. This is the right time—so, getting people to know what to do, empowering women to understand what they can do for themselves is very key.”
A robust question-and-answer session followed, where media representatives and health experts discussed the persistent factors contributing to maternal deaths—such as poor access to quality care, harmful cultural practices, lack of skilled personnel, gender inequality, and ignorance. Other notable personalities in attendance included President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (Lagos Branch); Dr. Funmi Ige, State Secretary of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives; Toba Odumosu, and founder of Jiden Breastpump, Mercy Agbagwa.
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